Coin-controlled machine



rNOMoKdel.)

W. M. DUGKER. GOIN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

Patented May 15, 1894.v

wAsHlNnToN. n. e.

NiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. DUCKER,OF NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MARIA E. DUOKER AND HENRY D. DUMONT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

\ COIN-.CONTROLLED MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 519,701, dated May 15,1 894.

Application filed August 5, 1893- Serial No. 482,444. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. DUCKEE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of coincontrolled or slot machines wherein the coin becomes, for the time being a part ot' the operative mechanism of the machine.

T he machine, as herein shown is, in its general construction, substantially the same as that illustrated vin my Patent No. 499,453, dated J une 13, 1893; and the object of this invention is, in part, to provide a construction which will prevent the use of Washers for beating the machine, and in part to compel the person operating the machine to push in the plunger to the full extent before he can get the article purchased bythe coin he drops in the slot. In other words, he must push the plunger home before it will return to its iirst or normal position, and before it will deliver the article.

The present invention will be fully de-k scribed hereinafter and its novel features carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein my invention is shown embodied in a vending machine similar to that described in my former Patent No. 499,453,Figure l is a horizontal, longitudinal section of the machine showing the parts in their normal position and showing the parts forming the expanding coin-pocket in plan. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the coin-slot, and at the rear of the coin-pocket, looking toward the front. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the lefthand side of the machine showing the parts intheir positions when the coinV is released and allowed to fall. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal, vertical section seen .from the right-hand and showing the position of the parts before the coin has been released. Fig. 5 is an enlarged and detached view of the operating'extremity of the plunger, showing the means for withdrawing a washer; and Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the same. Fig. 7 is a view on the same scale as Fig. 4, showing the operation of the plunger in withdrawing a washer. Fig. 8 is a side View of the ratchet detent, detached.

I will now describe the machine, premising that as here shown itis adapted for vending small articles, such as chewing gum, chocolates, dac., the bottom cake or piece of the pile being pushed out and allowed to fall by gravity down an incline to the delivery aperture whenever a coin of the proper kind is dropped into the slot and lodged between the end of a spring-retracted plunger and a tubular, spring-retracted operating slide,land the said plunger is pushed in to its full extent.

If the plunger be pushed in when there is no coin in the coin-pocket, the slender operating extremity of the plunger will enter the hollow of the operating slide and the delivery mechanism will not be actuated.

The above-described devices are all found in the machine described in my former Patent No. 499,453. The novel features c overed by the present application will be hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawing..- a is a simple frame, in the top-plate of which is formed the coin-slot, x. In pendants, ax, on the vframe is mounted a tubular operating slide, b, backed by a spring c. This slide is coupled by a lever j, to a delivery slide z', mounted to slide on the elevated portion a', of the frame. Fixed in the front part of the frame a, is a tubular guide, c Z, aligned with the slide b, and in this guide is mounted the plunger, e, provided with a retracting spring, f. The operating end, ex, of the plunger is so reduced in diameter that when the plunger is pushed in and there is no interposed coin, the plunger will enter the tubular slide h and not drive the latter back. lf, however, a coin, z, be interposed (see Fig. 4), the pressing in of the plunger drives back ythe slide b and a latch, g, carried by said slide (see Fig. 3), is drawn over a stud, h, on the frame, whereby the free end of the latch is forced upward in the manner of a wedge in front of a stud, h", carried by the plunger. This device drives the operating slide b forward so as to free the coin ,z and allow it to crop into the till below. This is the position of the parts seen in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 shows the IOC position of the parts when the plunger has been pushed in about half way.

All of the features above described are substantially as shown in my former patent, and they are illustrated and described herein in order to facilitate the understanding of my present invention.

The coin lwhen it is dropped into the coinslot falls into a coin-pocket situated in front of the `guide d, and immediately below.

the slot. This pocket consists (as best seen in Figs. l and 2) of two curved fingers, k, lc, which are pvotally hung in lugs on the topplate of the frame a and held in position by a leaf spring, m, secured at its middle, to the said top-plate. The respective ends of the spring m (see Fig. l) take under arms, fn, fixed on the same pivot-pins with the fingers, and hold the latter in their normal position to receive the coin. The fingers are hollowed out on their faces which are adjacent to the end of the operating slide l), thus forming a pocket to receive the coin. In Fig. l a coin is represented `by dotted lines in place ,in the pocket.

So long as coins only are dropped into the machine, the pocket serves merely as a pocket to receive and retain them until they are driven back by the plunger, but if a washer z be dropped into the pocket and the plunger bedriven in, the slender end eX thereof will pass through the aperture in the Washer, and yielding wings or anges, e', (see Figs. 5, 6 and 7) of rubber or like material, on the plunger will be forced into or through the washer, whereby when the `plunger is retracted by its spring the washer will be drawn back with force enough to spread or expand the fingers k, forming the coin-pocket and allow thewasher to pass out of the pocket and into the space y, between the pocket and the end of the tubular guide cl. The further retraction of the plunger draws it out fromthe washer and the latter is free to fall by gravity into the till of the machine. The extremity, e", of the plunger is made pointed, as seen in Figs. Il

and 5, in order that it may puncture and pass through disks of pasteboard, thin metal, the.,

and remove them as in the case of a washer.

The machine will be so construct-ed that the coin inserted will be released and allowed to drop a moment before the article is delivered, and I provide the machine with an automatic 1 ratchet detent which compels the user to push l; the plunger in home before the article is def livered and before the plunger will be re- This device is illustracted by its spring. trated in Figs. 3, 4 and 8.

Attached to the plunger is a rack-bar, 0,` the attaching arm of which is guided in'a slot d in the guide cl, as seen in Fig. 4. On this bar, which plays parallel with the plunger, is a ratchet, 0X, 'adapted to be engaged by a spring-pawl p, pvotally mounted on a Stud u in the frame. ,y

Mounted to rock on the same stud with the pawl 1J, is a rockinglever, q, the lower arm of lwhich is coupled by a spring e to some part of the frame. The `end of the .upper arm of the lever q projects into the path of a camplate, s, on the under side of the operating slide b. The coil-spring, t, of the pawl embraces the stud u, and one end thereof is fastened to the rear, upper arm of the pawl; the other end of the spring is secured to a stud or pin in the upper arm of the lever q. To form a cam-plate or surface s, the metal of the slide is represented as cut away, but it will be obvious that by a slight changein the positions of the parts the same result would be obtained by merely planting the camplate s on theoperating slide. The operation of this ratchet device is simple. When the plunger and operating slide are in their normal positions,.or at rest, `the upper arm of the lever q will be at the rear of the camplate s, and when the plunger is pushed in and the slide b moves back, the rear end of the camplate strikes the upper arm of the rocking-lever q and tilts the lever, putting the spring r under a slight tension. `This movement of the lever, acting `through the spring t, depresses the nose of the pawl p into engagement with the ratchet-teeth oX on the bar o. As the slide h moves back, the camplate s holds the pawl in engagementwith said teeth and prevents the `retraction of the plunger until the latter shall have `been pushed in to its full extent. When .this has been done, the cam-plate s `.will pass out of engagement with the lever (Land the spring o" will be free to rock said leverand lift the pawl p out of engagement with the ratchet.

4The plunger will then `befree to return toits normal position. When the operating slide l), moves back to its normal position, .the camplate s merely wipes over the `upper arm of the lever q without producing any effect so far as the pawl is concerned.

I do not limit myself to the exact mechanical construction of the novel devices herein shown as I am aware this construction may be varied to some extent without departing materially from my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-fl. In a coin-controlled machine, thecombination with a hollow operating `slide h, of a laterally expansible coin-pocket arranged adjacent to the front end of said slide, a guide d, aligned with the slide h, and a Aplunger e, in said guide, said plunger having a reduced extremity eX, furnished with flexible, yielding flaps capable of being forced through a washer or apertured plate, substantially as set forth.

2. In a coin-controlled machine, the combi-- nation with a hollow operating slide b, of a laterally expansible coin-pocket comprising the two pivoted arms k, k, and springs which hold them in their normal positions, the tubular guide d, aligned with the slide b, the plunger e, mounted in said guide and having the piece e', of yielding material fixed in its re- IOO IIO

provided with a cam-plate s, the retractint'; spring c, and the delivery slide coupled withl the slide b, of the plunger-guide, the plunger mounted therein, of the bar o, connected to and moving with the plunger and provided with a ratchet o", the pawl p, the means sub-A stantially as described intermediate the camplate s and pawl whereby the latter is put into and thrown out of engagement with the ratchet o", as set forth.

' 4. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with the frame, the operating slide b, provided with a cam-plate 8,the retracting spring c, the plunger-guide, the plunger, and the bar 0, xed to the plunger and carrying a ratchet 0X, of the stud u, set in the frame, the pawl p, pivoted on said stud and adapted to engage the ratchet 0X, the rocking lever q, pivoted on said stud and having its upper end in the path of the cam-plate s, the spring/r, connected at one end to the lower end of the lever q, and the spring t, coiled about the stud u, and having one of its ends secured to the upper end of the lever q and its other end secured to the upper end of the pawl p, substantially as set forth. A

5. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with an operating slide b, a plunger e, aligned therewith, and a coin-pocket arranged between their respective ends, whereby when a coin is in said pocket and the plunger pushed-in the operating slide will be driven back, of a ratchet carried by the plunger, a springpawl pivoted on the frame and held normally out of engagement with said ratchet, and controlling means, intermediate the operating slide and plunger and actuated by the backward movement of the slide, for putting the pawl into engagement with the ratchet, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. M. DUCKER. Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, JAMES K. DUFFY. 

